See Matthew's film "Stage Combat" and "Theatre Sports" with Allen O'Halloran and read his reports on Joe Improv, Improvised Comedy and the Sue Cheeseman’s Dance Workshop.

Follow the fate of some of Youth Arts' bravest and brightest as they learn stage-fighting techniques.

The blurb for "Joe Improv, Improvised Comedy" reads, "This entertainment is full of energy, thought-provoking and will tickle your fancy as it takes off on random tangents!"

No kidding! It did exactly that and much more. It was an improvised performance created by a professional group of youth improvisers, aged between 14 and 18 and tutored by Ryan Hartigan. There was no better way to spend a lazy Sunday evening than at the Ilott Theatre being entertained by these guys.

The audience is warned early on "not to get comfortable in your chairs" and the reason quickly becomes obvious. The group's director and MC for the night, Hartigan, picks on people in the audience, a well-dressed man and an elderly lady who demands a song on "grandma's room". The audience is also bribed with confectionery and even given the opportunity to morbidly shout at those who are too slow to "DIE!"

The group does various styles and games from long improvisation scenes, such as epic poems and songs, to the more well-known Whose Line is it Anyway? style. The show Whose Line is it Anyway? even comes with its own keyboard man, who often adds weird sounding effects. Hartigan, though, is quick to point out "it's improvisation not theatresports, "Joe Improv" is not competitive, it's all about teamwork," and that idea is crucial to the performance. "It's not perfect; they take the good and put it together into a team effort."

Ryan Hartigan does a lot of improvising himself and draws on his own experiences to help the students. This is the first group of Hartigan-tutored students; there are twelve in total. They have come a long way from his initial mentoring. "Recently they did their first stand alone show at Zeal and then a whole season at the Wellington Fringe Festival." Hartigan is obviously proud, and deservedly so, as they are the first professional, youth improvisation show in New Zealand.

Ryan Hartigan started teaching them at Zeal and has moved to Capital E. He is now looking at taking more classes and extending them to an intermediate age and is extremely keen to promote his classes in schools. "There are some ferociously talented kids out there and this group will be graduating soon and moving onto adult troupes." So he is eager to encourage youth throughout Wellington to come along. But it's not the performance Hartigan takes the greatest enjoyment from, it's the tutoring. "I don't want to be cheesy, but it's great to see people grow, get out of their comfort zone and surprise themselves."

They certainly surprised me. It was amazing to see a group of people the same age as myself standing up in front of a crowd and effortlessly improvising a scene. Not only was it straight off the top of their heads, it was funny, witty and amusing. How do they do it? I couldn't manage that. They do not even seem daunted. "I don't think you ever lose the fear," Hartigan reveals, but they do have him on stage to fall back on as the MC "If things get weary or are not quick enough, I'll throw an idea out," he says.

However he teaches them to take a risk to "enjoy getting in trouble and learning how to get out of it". This philosophy helps the performers to be more creative and amusing as they are not afraid to try things. "It's terrifying to go out on stage and perform ... but they have a group to rely on, they know it's safe to fail, they all know there is no such thing as the perfect show."

It might not have been perfect but it was great fun and highly entertaining. A round of applause please, for Ryan Hartigan and Joe Improv!

It is Monday 18 August and the 2003 Youth Arts Festival is well under way. I'm not much of a dancer (my best attempt being "The Birdie Dance" at Kindy) and it would be fair to say I don't know much about contemporary dancing except how to spell it. So it was with cautious anticipation that I arrived at the Old Wesley Centre for a contemporary dance workshop. The workshop is called "The Ups and Downs of Changing Friendship" and is run by dance choreographer Sue Cheeseman.

The workshop deals with the action and reaction between two people using contemporary dance and movement to express what is essentially a duel between them. "Contemporary dance is a broad genre. It has its own individual aspects as well as aspects of ballet, classical and modern jazz," workshop leader Sue Cheeseman explained. The group of participants is small, six and all from Wanganui High School. They start off with some basic warm-ups and procedures and then it's into the partner work. "It's what is called a wall dance," Sue Cheeseman tells me. "They use the wall as an area, a confine for a conversation." It is at this point the idea behind the workshop begins to dawn on me - a conversation between two people is being portrayed. "Dance is drama with movement, not words," Cheeseman helpfully pointed out to me.

And that is exactly what they did. The students constructed a drama from dance in one impressive day. The pairs represent friendships and they portray the initial harmony of friendship followed by the journey that friendships go through, gradually building up to an intense argument which is finally resolved by all the participants shouting "Sorry!" at each other. "They begin in a slow build-up which climaxes in an argument," Cheeseman explains. I find it a fascinating spectacle to watch as six people create a story out of motion.

Sue has been dancing "for many years". She is currently a freelance choreographer, teacher and performer, but only takes a few workshops. She teaches all age groups and is often used as a consultant at schools because "dance is now part of the NCEA curriculum". It is for that reason the Wanganui High School students are down in Wellington. "This is to help us with our assessments coming up," Josie says. She is joined by her fellow school students Maria, Leonie, Bec, Ms Pond their teacher, and, to my surprise, a male called Brett, who claims "to be the only guy who dances in Wanganui."

"The workshop has definitely been worth it," Josie continued. "It has been a lot of help." Despite it being a leading art form in this country and overseas, publicity is not big for contemporary dance. "We just need to encourage people," Cheeseman says enthusiastically. "NCEA will help by making it part of the curriculum." However, it is easy to become involved. Just find your local community class or performing arts centre and, as Brett proves, it is not limited to the fairer sex.

At all her workshops Cheeseman chooses a theme for the day. "I try to be different, but that can have its downside. At six in the morning I'm freaking out about whether it will it work." Anxiety is unnecessary because the day has been a huge success. After less than seven hours the workshop ends in the pinnacle, a performance which encapsulates the day's work. The idea and story are uncomplicated and easy to follow. The moves are elegant and smooth, showing off the participants' talent and skill. "The Ups and Downs of Changing Friendships" has certainly changed this cynic's perception of contemporary dance.